Wreck-raising appliance.



VLBUPPULINI & R. ROTTENBACHER.

WREGK EAISING APPLIANGE.

APPLIUATION HLBD No1/26, 1911.

1,030,869. Patented July 2, 1912.

UNITE @l STATES` PATENT OFFICE.

VITTORIO BUFFULINI ANnRIcoARDo RoTTENBAeHi-z'r., 0F TRIESTE, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. y.

WRECK-RAISING APPLIANCE.

Be it known that we, Virfroino BUFrULiNI the Emperor of Austria-Hungary,and residents of Trieste, Austria-Hungary,.have invented certainImprovements in Treck- Raising Appliances, of which the following isaspecilication.

Our invention relates to a device for indicating the position andfacilitating the raising of sunken ships, and consists in the provisionof a buoy which is so connected to the vessel as to allow of being setfree to float on the water surfaceA if the vessel should happen to sinkor, in the case of submarine vessels, get out. of control. Hoistingcables for raising the vessel are permanently connected thereto whichcables are in their .turn connected by minor cables to the buoy, thelatter being thereby held on the Water surface so as to indicate thatthe vessel is sunk and in need of assistance. To raise the vessel it isonly necessary' to haul in the cables and connect the hoisting cables tothe cranes Aof the salvage vessels, for Which operation no divers needbe employed. Electric communication, which is automatically put intooperation, is established Vbetween the vessel and the buoy for thepurpose. of illuminating the latter at night. .Telephonie communicationis also provided.

In the accompanying drawings the invention is illustrated by way ofexample in'connection with a submarine vessel, the ligure representing asectional view of the complete arrangement.

On the deck l of the vessel a hollow cylindrical buoy 3 is supported bymeans of feet 2. A 'screw-spindle 4 is titted in the deck 1 so ,asto-nengage a socket in the bottom of the buoy and thus hold the latterconnected to the vessel. .The buoy, which has a bev'- 1 eled upper edge,is surmounted by a lamp casing 5 fitted with light refracting lenses 6and is divided by two horizontal partitions 7 into three superposedcompartments. In the lower compartment four horizontal cable drums 9arezradially arranged about a centrally disposed tube 8, said being`Specification of Letters Patent. Application tiled November G, 1911.Serial No. 658,687.

Patented July?, 1912.

wound with thin steel cables lthe ends of which are passed 1n awater-tight manner through the bottom of the buoy and con.

nected to the free ends of ystrong cables which are lodged in cages 11and fastened I to eyed brackets 12 on the deck 1.

` The, central compartment of the buoy has ltwo vertical supports 12which carry another horizontal cable drum 13. This drum is made ofelectrically insulating material such as stabilit or the likev and isfitted at each end with two mutually insulating fianges of conductingmaterial. A cable 1.4,

composed of four electrically conducting strands is wound on the drum 14and passed through the bottom of the buoy and through the deck 1, in awater-tight manner, into the interior of the vessel. The inner end ofthis cable is untwisted, andthe separate strands are connected to thefour conducting flanges'of the drui'n, one to each. The single strandsare preferably insulated by a rubber coating and the four strandstogether wrapped up in several layers of linen which has been saturatedwith paraffin, tar,

pitch, or the like. Access to the upper compartment of'the buoy can behad through a normally covered manhole 15. In this compartment atelephone apparatus 1G is arranged which is connected by means of a pairof sliding contacts 18 to one pair of the conducting flanges of the drum13. An electric lamp 17, preferably fitted with salted carbons, isarranged in the casing and connected by means of another pair of slidingcontacts 1S to the opposite pair-of conducting flanges of the drum 13.

In the interior of the vessel an'electrc accumulator 25 is providedwhich is connected by means of leads 24 to a double pole switch 23 andto a time switch 2G, these elements being also connected to thosestrands of the cable 14: which lead to the lamp 1'?. The circuit isnormally interrupted by the switch 23 Whoseswitch lever is connected bymeans of a traction element 22 t0 a double-armed lever 21. A verticalrod 20 is pivotally attached to one armv of t-he lever 21 and has itsupper end project- Ving through and guided in the deck 1'. A

spring 19,

encircling the rod tends to press the same u ward so as to turn thelever 21 and the switch lever for closing the circuit.

Such closing of the circuit is normally prevented by the buoy againstthe bottom of which the rod 20 abuts. The t-ime switch 26, which mayhave the. construction disclosed in the German Patent No. 2187 82 of May22, 1909, is adapted to maintain the circuit closedby night-andinterrupted in the day-time. A telephone apparatus 27 in the vessel isconnected by leads 29 to a battery 28 and to those strands of the cableto take her to the water surface by her own- 14 which lead to thetelephone apparatus 16. To tighten the cables 10 and 14 t0 the bottom ofthe buoy, cork rings may be ems ployed which are secured to the buoy soas to embrace the cables. l

The 'modus operandi is as follows :-If, the vessel being submerged, itshould be found impossible for one reason or another power, then thescrew 4 is turned so as to set the buoy free. Being lighter thanits'volume of water, the buoy at once rises to the water surface,thereby unwinding the cablesv 10 and-14 from the drums and pulling themthrough its bottom.4 At the separation of the buoy from the-vessel therod 20 is released so that, influenced by the spring 19, it can operatethe switch 23 for doing its part of the closing of the lamp circuit. Thecircuit is now cont-rolled by the time switch 26 which switches the lampon in the even` ing and' off in the morning. The buoy,

which is thus visible night' and day, indicatesthe position of thevessel and her need for assistance. The salvors, called 'to the placeafter the discovery of the buoy, have merely to haul-,in the ends of thehoisting cables by means of the cables 1 0 and connect them to thecranes of the pontoons whereupon the submerged vessel can be raised tothe surface Withoutthe assistance of diversi- Telephonic communicationis meanwhile kept between the salvors and the crew of the vessel throughthe medium ofthe instruments 16 and 27 and the cable 14. The lamp 17 mayunder normal conditions be employed for signaling purposes.

When the apparatus is employed in connection with an ordinary Vvesselthe screw .spindle 4 can be discarded, the buoy being then mounted in acasing which it is capable of leaving spontaneously in case the vesselshould happen to sink. It is also possible to discard the drums 9 andsimply roll the cables 10 up together with the hoisting cables in thecages 11. For ships running on shallow water the hoisting cables may bedispensed with and the raising of the vessel effected by means of pulleyblocks. In that case the cables 10 are connected directly to thebrackets 12, and the lower pulley of each block is fitted with a guideelement means of which it can be guided along the cable 10 through theWater, a hook being secured tothe pulley in such a manner as to snapautomatically vinto connection with the bracket 12 when it reaches thelatter.

`We claim:

1. A device for indicating the position and facilitating the raising ofsunken ships,

comprising a buoy mounted on the deck of the vessel so as to allow ofbeing set free to ioat on the water surface if the vessel should sink,hoisting cables for raising the comprising a buoy mounted on the deck ofthe vessel so as to allow of being set free to tica-t on the watersurface i the vessel should happen tosink, hoisting cables for raisingthe vessel connected to and carried by the latter, minor cablesconnecting the hoisting cables with the buoy for controlling theposition of the latter when aoat and enable the ends of the hoistingcables to be brought to the surface, a casing itted with lightrefracting lenses surmounting the buoy, an electric lamp in said casing,an'electric source inthe vessel, electric connections between said lampand said electric4 source, a switch keeping the circuit normallyinterrupted, and means for automati-` cally actuating said switch so asto close the circuit when the `buoy leaves the vessel, substantially assetfforth.

3. A device tor indicati-ng the -position and facilitating the raisingof sunken ships,

comprising a buoy mounted on the deck of.

the vessel.V so as to allow of being Set free to iioat on the watersurface if the vessel should happen to sink, hoisting cables for raisingthe vessel connected to and carried by the latter, minor cables carriedby drums in the buoy and connected to the hoisting cables so as tocontrol the position of the buoy when afloat and enable the ends of thehoisting cables to be brought to the surface,

an electric lamp onthe buoy for indicating theposition at night, anelectric source in the vessel,l a cable supplying power from said.source to said lamp, an electric switch vessel connected to and carriedby the lat-- and facilitating the raising of sunken ships,

sit-ion to its spring when the buoy rests on arranged in the vessel andadapted to hold rod is released by the buoy, substantially astheelectric circuit normally interrupted, a set forth. spring-actuatedrod arranged in the vessel so as to be depressed by the buoy in oppo-VITTORIO BUFFULINI" RICCARDO ROTTENBACHER.

Witnesses PAOLO VILSING, GIovANNi CovACOCH.

the vessel, and connections between said rod and said switch causing thelatter to be operated for closing the circuit as soon as the Copies ofthis patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing theCommissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

